looking for quick and easy baking recipes to try at home before you try these quick and easy baking recipes make sure you pop into a crazy plastics store near you and get your hands on all the baking tools you ll need to get you going best ever classic chocolate brownies cook time 45 minutes ingredients 100g butter chopped 200g dark chocolate chopped 4 eggs 250g caster sugar 100g plain flour 1tsp baking powder 30g cocoa method heat the oven to 180cline a 22cm square brownie tin with baking parchment melt the butter and chocolate together in a microwave or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water cool to room temperature whisk the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and sift on the flour baking powder and cocoa fold this in to give a fudgy batter to ramp it up add 100g chopped white or milk chocolate chunks or 100g toasted roughly chopped hazelnuts or pecans or 2 handfuls of baby marshmallows bake for 25 30 minutes or until the top is cracked but the middle just set cool completely then lift out of the tin and cut classic millionaire s shortbread cook time 1 hour chilling ingredients 200g milk or dark chocolate shortbread 200g cold butter cubed 275g plain flour 100g caster sugar caramel 397g condensed milk 150g soft light brown sugar 150g butter 1 2 tsp sea salt method heat the oven to 180c grease and line a 20cm brownie or square tin put the flour sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until it forms a dough press the dough into the base of the tin and press into the corners with your fingertips prick with a fork and bake for 20 minutes until golden and dry leave to cool put the caramel ingredients in a small pan over a medium low heat and cook continually whisking for 2 3 minutes until the sugar has melted cook whisking for a further 6 minutes until thickened pour over the cooled shortbread smooth over cool to room temperature and chill until set about 2 hours you can freeze to speed this up if you like melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water until smooth and glossy leave to cool slightly then pour over the set caramel cool again until set sprinkle with a pinch more salt and cut into squares with a hot knife to easily go through the chocolate best stored in the fridge for up to 3 days classic vegan carrot cake cook time 1 hour cooling ingredients 125ml vegetable oil 175g soft light brown sugar 2tsp vanilla extract 1 2 orange zested 300ml soy milk 1tsp apple cider vinegar 2tsp psyllium husks 325g plain flour 2tsp baking powder 1 1 2tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 1 2tsp ground cinnamon 1tsp ground nutmeg 1tsp ground ginger 1 2tsp sea salt 110g walnuts roughly chopped 300g carrots grated frosted 60g vegan butter 200g vegan cream cheese 1tsp vanilla bean paste 700g icing sugar method heat the oven to 180c and line two 18cm cake tins with baking paper whisk together the oil sugar vanilla and orange zest in a large bowl until the sugar begins to dissolve in a measuring jug combine the soy milk and the cider vinegar whisk well and set aside the milk will appear to split or thicken but don t worry if it does in a small bowl mix together the ground psyllium husks and 3 tbsp of water allow to thicken for 20 seconds before adding to the brown oil and sugar mixture whisk well for 30 seconds the mixture should come together and the oil should no longer be separated from the sugar little by little add the thickened soy milk to the oil and sugar mixture whisking all the time in a bowl sift together the flour baking powder bicarbonate 2 tsp of the cinnamon and all of the nutmeg ginger and salt stir together add the flour mixture to the wet mixture along with the grated carrots and 70g of the chopped walnuts mix until just combined divide the batter between the two prepared cake tins and bake in the oven for 25 30 minutes before removing from the oven test with a toothpick in the center of each cake it should come out clean allow the cakes to cool completely in their tins on a wire rack while the cakes are cooling make the frosting in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a bowl using electric beaters beat the vegan butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy add the vanilla bean paste and beat again to combine in another bowl sift the icing sugar with the stand mixer on low add the icing sugar a heaped spoonful at a time if you add it all at once the frosting will split you may not need to add all the icing sugar so keep adding until the frosting is thick smooth and whipped the more sugar you add the thicker the frosting will become to assemble the cake remove the cooled cake layers from the tins carefully apply a generous layer of frosting on top of one layer top with the second layer followed by the remaining frosting then use a pallet knife to lightly ice the sides of the cakes leaving a naked finish with the sponges still slightly exposed before serving sprinkle the cake with the remaining tsp of cinnamon and the roughly chopped walnuts classic victoria sponge cook time 40 minutes cooling ingredients 175g unsalted butter at room temperature 175g caster sugar 175g self raising flour sifted 1tsp baking powder 1tsp vanilla extract 3 eggs 1 2tbsp milk sponge filling 4tbsp strawberry jam 142ml double cream icing sugar for dusting method heat the oven to 180c line and butter 2 x 18cm sandwich tins beat all the cake ingredients together in a large bowl add the milk if the mixture is too stiff to drop off a spoon when tapped gently divide the mixture between the tins and level bake side by side for 20 25 minutes until the sponges have risen slightly shrunk away from the edge of the tin and spring back when lightly pressed leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack and peel off the paper cool completely before filling spread the jam onto the base of one sponge spread the cream on top of the jam sandwich the other sponge on top dust with icing sugar custard tarts cook time 50 minutes cooling ingredients 2tbsp plain flour 2tbsp icing sugar plus more to serve 375g puff pastry 250g caster sugar 2 lemon zest strips 1 stick cinnamon 2 eggs 4 egg yolks 50g cornflour 500ml whole milk 1 vanilla pod ground cinnamon to serve method mix the flour and icing sugar and use this to dust the work surface roll the pastry out to make a 45 x 30cm rectangle roll up lengthways to create a long sausage shape cut the pastry into 24 wheels about 1 2cm thick roll each wheel lightly with the rolling pin to fit 2 x 12 hole non stick fairy cake tins press the pastry circles into the tins and mould into the tins to make thin cases chill until needed heat the oven to 220c fan 200c gas 7 make a sugar syrup by bringing the sugar 200ml water lemon zest and cinnamon stick to the boil reduce until syrupy allow to cool then remove the cinnamon and lemon whisk the eggs egg yolks and cornflour until smooth in another large pan heat the milk and vanilla pod seeds in a separate pan until just below the boil gradually pour the hot milk over the eggs and cornflour then cook on a low heat continually whisking add the cooled sugar syrup to the custard and whisk until thickened slightly pour the custard through a sieve pour into the pastry cases and bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and the custard has darkened cool completely in the tins then sift over icing sugar and ground cinnamon to serve salted caramel shortbread cook time 50 minutes cooling ingredients 300g butter 150g caster sugar 350g plain flour 100g rice flour 150g dark chocolate salt flakes for decorations caramel 100g caster sugar salt flakes method to make the caramel heat the sugar in an even layer in a frying pan until it melts and then starts to bubble to a golden brown swirl the pan if you need to keep the melting and browning even add a good sized pinch of salt flakes and tip the caramel onto an oiled baking sheet set on a wooden board cool and then break into chips with a rolling pin whizz the butter and sugar in a food processor until you have a smooth paste add all of the flours and a pinch of salt and whizz to form a dough tip onto a lightly floured board pat out gently and sprinkle with the caramel chips fold in half and then transfer to a 20 30cm or similar tin and push into an even layer cover and chill for 30 minutes heat the oven to 180c fan bake the shortbread for 25 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through cool in the tin for 5 minutes mark into fingers with a knife and then cool completely cut along the marked lines into pieces heat the chocolate in a bowl set over but not touching a pan of water or microwave until it starts to melt stir until smooth and take it off the heat lay the shortbreads next to each other with a tiny gap in between them on a cooling rack and spoon over the chocolate in strips it doesn t have to be perfect while the chocolate is still wet sprinkle with some salt flakes and then leave it to set